After a 2-1 day yesterday, we’re looking for that perfect 3-for-3 day to end the week! It’s time to analyze the board of MLB player props and sift through the data to find those winning picks! My best bets of the day on Underdog Fantasy feature the red-hot Julio Rodriguez against the Houston Astros, Jordan Lyles facing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, and Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes taking on the Minnesota Twins. Don't forget to check out the latest MLB weather report, as there is a lot of weather on the radar tonight, and the confirmed MLB lineups when placing those MLB betting picks, and our MLB daily projections and MLB Batter vs Pitcher page will help uncover the best matchups for MLB player props and your MLB DFS lineups. Let's dive into the top MLB player picks on Underdog Fantasy for Sunday, August 20th.

 

Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners - HIGHER than 1.5 Total Bases

How can we not play Rodriguez right now? He has a seven-game hit streak, including four straight games with at least four hits. He has 17 hits over his last four games, going 17-for-22 (.773 AVG) during this stretch! In the month of August, he’s slashing .425/.459/.675, and has at least two total bases in 11 of 17 games. Houston’s Hunter Brown has some reverse splits on the year, and Rodriguez is slashing .377/.406/.639 with a .262 ISO and 190 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this month. 

Jordan Lyles, Kansas City Royals - HIGHER than 5.5 Hits Allowed

Lyles has allowed at least six hits in eight of his last 11 starts, and if we look solely at his 12 road starts this year, we see that he has allowed at least six hits in nine of them (75%). Lyles has a 7.19 ERA, .289 BAA, and 1.43 WHIP on the road this season, and now he heads to Wrigley Field to take on a Cubs lineup that has performed like a top five offense in baseball this month against righties. In the month of August, the Cubs rank fourth in batting average (.278), third in slugging percentage (.522), third in wRC+ (137), second in OPS (.882), second in ISO (.244), second in wOBA (.376). This is a tough matchup Lyles finds himself in, and it’s not like he’s been pitching great of late, serving up a 7.22 ERA and 37 hits across his last 28.2 IP.

Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates - HIGHER than 1.5 Total Bases

Hayes is hitting .300 in the month of August with a .533 SLG, and he has multiple hits in four of his last five games. The Pittsburgh third baseman has a .291/.312/.495 slash line against southpaws this season, but those numbers improve to .412/.421/.706 with a .294 ISO if we only look at the month of August. Dallas Keuchel hasn’t been overly impressive in either of his two starts this season, and he’s served up a .375 average and .458 SLG to right-handed hitters in this small sample size. However, going back to 2021, he’s allowed a .307/.370/.509 slash line to right-handed hitters, and with the way Hayes has been seeing the ball of late, sign me up for 2+ total bases today.

 

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